Kpax Construction

On October 10, 2018, our home was damaged by hurricane Michael, including damage to the roof. On November 25, 2018, I signed a build contract with AnyWeather Roofing (K-Pax Construction) to repair my roof. As insurance claims for hurricane Michael were taking months to process, I was worried the amount of the repair would exceed the amount covered by our insurance. I was also worried about who would be responsible for handling requests for any additional money needed from the insurance company. The AnyWeather representative, J**** B*****, told me AnyWeather had its own Insurance Adjuster who worked directly with insurance companies. That adjuster, C**** B*****, would work out the contract details with my insurance company and handle any supplements needed to repair the roof. I was assured I would not have to pay anything out of pocket or have to handle getting supplements approved. On the building contract, J**** wrote the terms as “Insurance procedes(sic) and supplements.” On December 13, 2018, I provided AnyWeather, via J**** B*****, a bank check for $6926.00. On January 11, 2019, C**** B*****, the insurance adjuster working for K-Pax, emailed a copy of my build contract to USAA, my insurance company (and a copy to me). He sent the email from his account, nightstalkerfishing@******.*** to my USAA claim email which directly sends the email into my USAA claim. The build contract terms are “insurance proceeds and supplements.” On January 12, 2019, USAA sent a line item breakdown for the proposed roofing repairs to C**** B*****. There were several exchanges between USAA and C**** B***** to arrive at this breakdown, but this was the one USAA and AnyWeather agreed on. On January 14, 2019, C**** B***** sent an email to USAA and a copy to me, stating he had reviewed USAA’s estimate for the roof, the amount was fair, and the company would accept the stated amount to do the work. On January 22, 2019, K-Pax Construction repaired the roof. There was some problem d/b/a AnyWeather Roofing and the logos were stripped off the trucks, but I understood that K-Pax Construction was d/b/a as AnyWeather so it was still the same company.

There were two representatives from K-Pax supervising the roofing repairs, G**** and J**** B*****. G**** was up on the roof as the workers began removing the remaining old shingles from the roof. They had barely started ripping the shingles off when G**** came down off the roof to talk to my wife and me.

G**** told us that the wooden decking currently on our roof was 3/8-inch, and due to FL building codes he had to replace the decking with a minimum of 1/2-inch thick decking. I mentioned to him that C**** B***** and my USAA adjuster, C**** A*****, had disagreed several times over what was required according to the FL building codes. G**** told my wife and me replacing the deck was already part of the agreement because it was required by FL code. He said all he needed was plenty of pictures so C**** B***** would have the proper documentation to send to USAA.

When J**** B***** left and returned with a truck load of wooden roof decking, I asked him if he knew about the decking. J**** told me that G**** had called him and not to worry about the decking because G**** had all the pictures C**** B***** needed to send to C**** A*****. On January 23, 2019, I received an email invoice from J******* H***** at K-Pax for $22,327.19 minus my deposit of $6,929.00 for a balance due of $15,404.19. I forwarded this to USAA for review and payment. On January 29, 2019, I received a check from USAA for $15,404.19. I wrote to J******* H***** at K-Pax letting her know I had received the check from USAA and was forwarding it to my mortgage company as I was required. I let J******* know that as soon as the bank verified the repair as complete and sent me a check I would contact her. On Feb 22, 2019, C**** B***** sent an email to USAA with a revised estimate for the roof. In the email C**** B***** stated, “the original decking is 3/8” and will no longer meet the Florida Building Code.” He went on to say, “building code requires 1/2" CDX, so that is what we have installed over the full roofer after removing the old 3/8” decking.” On March 12, 2019, I sent J******* H***** a copy of an email USAA had sent to C**** B*****. The email was asking for an update from AnyWeather on supplying the “FBC for Existing Buildings showing the requirement for the decking.” This was an email C**** A*****, my USAA adjuster, had sent C**** B***** at K-Pax. The USAA system automatically CCs emails to the policy holder. On March 19, 2019, I received a check from my mortgage company payable to Griffin Construction. My mortgage company stated Griffin was the parent company as per federal tax documents. I called J******* H***** to let her know I would be mailing that check to K-Pax immediately. I also received an updated invoice from K-Pax Construction (from bself**@******.***) adding $6760.00 for the wood decking replacement/repair. On March 20, 2019, C**** A*****, my USAA Adjustor, sent an email to the K-Pax office stating she had been in contact with the K-Pax representative (C**** B*****) about the necessary documentation for the building code K-Pax was claiming justified replacing the roof decking. She explained the only documentation USAA had received so far was for “new construction” and she needed FBC for “Existing Building.” On March 22, 2019, C**** *** again emailed K-Pax. She explained that she had discussed the claim with her supervisor, D****. Since there was a disagreement on what code should be applied to my house (new construction vs. existing construction), she offered the option of having an engineer inspect and advise as a resolution. She asked for K-Pax to advise how they would like to proceed. On March 25, 2019, I received an email from J******* H***** stating AnyWeather was working with my insurance company “to get all the proper paperwork in order for payment for the decking replacement.” On August 1, 2019, (four months later) I received a certified letter from K-Pax stating my account was overdue in the amount of $6760.00 (the cost of the decking), and threatening late fees, legal action, or a construction lien if not paid promptly. This is the amount in dispute over whether the K-Pax had replaced the decking in accordance with Florida building code or had replaced it without justification. There had been no communication from K-Pax during the preceding 4 months. In April, our daughter haddied and our focus shifted from tracking every line item to repair the house to just trying to live one day at a time. It had now been 10 months since the hurricane and there are over a dozen houses on my small street alone that are still undergoing repairs. It had been 4 months since out daughter collapsed suddenly and without warning and was dead just 90 minutes later, and we are not even sure we will want to stay in this house without her. I had to pull up pictures of the roofing job to file with the BBB and there she was. Every repair is like an open wound. Based on USAA’s last offer to settle the issue (dated Mar 22) and K-Pax’s email on getting the proper paperwork in order (dated Mar 25), we had considered the issue settled and closed. I immediately scanned the letter from K-Pax and forwarded all the contents to USAA. On August 2, 2019, C**** *** emailed K-Pax. She restated her numerous efforts to settle the issue with K-Pax and even included a copy of her March 22, 2019 email. According to a copy of the certified letter C**** *** sent to K-Pax, K-Pax responded on August 2, 2019, stating they had a signed contract from the homeowner stating I would be responsible for paying for replacement of all decking. On August 15, 2019, C**** *** emailed J******* at K-Pax and advised her that the building code J******* referenced was the same building code provided by C**** B*****. For seven months K-Pax had failed to produce any new information or any applicable building code. C**** *** advised K-Pax she would send them a certified letter citing the correspondence and numerous attempts to settle the issue between K-Pax and USAA. C**** stated there was no building code that warranted the replacement of the roof decking. On August 16, 2019, I sent an email to K-Pax (the email address on the invoice) asking for an explanation of why K-Pax was threatening me with late fees, legal action or a lien against my property when the terms of the build contract were “insurance and supplements”. I also asked for a copy of the contract I signed saying I was responsible for paying for replacement of all decking. Yes, there is a stipulation on the build contract that states, “Wood decking will be inspected and replaced as necessary,” but to date, K-Pax’s only claim for necessary is a FL building code they have not been able to produce. On August 22, 2019, I received an email from J******* H***** at K-Pax. It stated all emails between C**** B***** (K-Pax) and C**** *** (USAA) were lost. (In the 21st century all important emails are still just “lost”) J******* cited Code table 2304.8 as the applicable building code. The email also included quoted copies of previous emails from J******* from Aug 8, 2019 and Aug 2, 2019. Those emails were addressed to USAA and were not sent to me.

The August 8, 2019 email states K-Pax will have to take collection action against me (the homeowner).

In the August 2, 2019 email, J******* states August 2nd is the first time she received an email about the issue with the code and the decking billing, despite my email to her on March 12, 2019 and her email on to me on March 25, 2019 stating K-Pax was working with USAA to get the proper paperwork in order. I never told K-Pax to replace my roof decking. On the day of repair, the K-Pax site manager, G**** stated the decking had to be replaced because the old decking was 3/8-inch and the Florida Building Code required a minimum of 1/2-inch thick decking. If Florida Building Code requires 1/2-inch roof decking when repairing the roof on an existing building, K-Pax should be able to produce the applicable building code to USAA. If it was not necessary to replace the old 3/8-inch decking, the replacement stipulation on the build contract does not apply. Either way, AnyWeather agreed to do the job for “insurance proceeds and supplements” and trying to strong-arm me into paying money we don’t have to just plain wrong. This isn’t an Insurance Company issue. Numerous times my insurance company has said simply produce the FL building code the required the work you did and we will pay the bill. This is a case of whether the work done by the roofing company was necessary or an attempt to cash in on some hurricane victims